Bitcoin-backing fund launched

A fund offering investors the chance to invest in assets linked to blockchain technology has launched.

The fund gives investors the opportunity to purchase securities, known as ‘Bond Units’, in an asset portfolio that holds a mixture of property bonds, real estate and cryptocurrency assets.

The fund will invest in Peer-to-peer Bitcoin lending (30 per cent), traditional property bonds and real estate (30 per cent), the Billion Hero Campaign (30 per cent) and cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (10 per cent).

The fund will be listed on the Bitshares Blockchain Exchange, where the bond units can be traded, offering investors liquidity that may not be available in the underlying investments.

Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, said this is a "complicated investment that won't be easily understood by the majority of investors."

He said creating the product in this way in an attempt to minimise volatility, but the target return of 8 per cent a year looks unattractive compared to the returns available from actual investments in bitcoin and other such virtual currencies.